Week 24 - Google remove YouTube video editor, but still my best week yet
Sunday 17 September 2017. It was the first dry day in a week. It was also All Ireland Final Day. Dublin to play Mayo in the Gaelic Football Championship Final. Dublin have dominated for the last few years and were hot favourites, Mayo have not won the Championship since 1951. I watched some of the first half, by the time I went for a walk Mayo were leading by one point.
I had a shower and was off walking by 4 pm. I stopped to give the horse his apple - it seemed like he was waiting for me.
I walked around The Glen taking videos and collecting the odd piece of litter as I went. The sun was out and it was very pleasant. There were a few people walking their dogs, a teenage couple holding hands and a woman with six young children on tow. Some of them were wearing wellies and mucking about in the river.
I first walked to the waterfall, then around The Glen twice. I diverted many times to go down to the river, or to pick up a piece of litter from off the paths. With the huge amount of rain there has been over the last week, it almost like the whole glen has been washed and looks so clean.
There was also not much litter to collect. Yet, with the sun shining, I could see old cans and bottles I had missed before. I also found a hurling ball which seemed to have has little use. I emptied the litter in the litter bin by the car park and I left the hurling ball next to the bin, hoping someone would take it away and make use of it.
By the time I got home it was 5.40 pm. In the All Ireland Final, Dublin had beaten Mayo by a single point. I finished off preparing my parents' dinner for later. I changed into my running gear and was back out just after 6.30 pm. I stopped, as I walked to The Glen, to give the horse his second apple of the day - he must have thought it was his birthday. However, I won't be making a habit of it.
I started jogging about 100 yards before entering The Glen. When I crossed the footbridge over the river, I turned right to climb and start my first lap. As usual, I didn't set myself a target of how many laps to do. However, as it was quite late, I just wanted to complete at least four and that meant continuous jogging for over 20 minutes. In the back of my mind I would love to do five, making it just over 5 km.
I wasn't on my own tonight, there were two other men running laps of The Glen. One was quite young, the other was in his 30s. They didn't seem to run that fast, but looked a lot fitter than I do. They were also probably going faster than I was. This gave me a bit of an incentive. On the first lap I knew I was moving a bit faster than normal, and for a change I didn't feel that bad. This may have been due to the fact I am now used to running further than 4 or 5 laps and that was all I was intending to complete tonight. At a few points I would have one of them 100 or so yards behind me, and maybe foolish of me, I would push on to try and keep them behind me. I was never going to win, but I was still moving faster and I was feeling comfortable.
It was so surprising how quick the laps passed, and I was really enjoying it. There was no feeling bad, no heavy legs, no wanting to stop or slow down. On the fifth lap I really pushed on through the car park and up the steep hill to the old reservoir. I pushed on around it and after crossing over the sluice bridge, I really made a conscious effort to speed up along the flat path towards the waterfall. I felt I was flying, then I tried to work out my pace. Years ago I could estimate very accurately how fast I was running, but this was a different ball-game. I just said to myself "shut up, it feels great, so enjoy it". I kept this going all the way to the waterfall. When I stopped, I sat down on the bench, I was tired, but it was not an "I'm feeling knackered tired and struggled to do this" it was I've just really pushed myself to my limit for over 5 km, it went in a breeze and I really enjoyed that.
To finish, I jogged all the way along the flat path to the old reservoir, around it and back to the exit footbridge. On the way I passed a man with his dog for the second time. As he spoke to me, when I passed him, I realised he was someone I knew over 30 years ago, I wasn't sure of his name, but he used to brush the streets in the village when I was young. It's a shame he's still not doing it.
I crossed over the exit footbridge and climbed the steep path out of The Glen, then steep all the way up the road to the junction. I kept going, past the sad looking horse who wanted another apple, and all the way into the village. It was still sunny, but the sun was low in the sky. The air was clear, but I had sweat running off my face. I changed quickly and walked to and back from the local shop. I was still feeling hot on my was there, but starting to feel cold on my way back. It's what happens if you go for a good run. You feel really hot for a while afterwards, but within 10 to 15 minutes you start to cool down very quickly.
Overall, today I was very pleased with my start to the week. I walked just under 3 miles and ran a 5.3 km interval and a 1.75 km interval. 7.05 km or 4.4 miles running - and tonight it felt like running and not jogging. It's been a great start to a new week, I just hope I can keep it going.
One last thing, before I sign off, writing this blog tonight (although no one is probably reading it) is a personal thing, and it helps me to keep going. I really write it for myself. It may sound boring to others, but to me it's a lifeline to understand and look back on where I came from and where I am going. Without having to put pen to paper, or in my case, fingertips to keyboard, I feel obliged to report on my progress, and by doing this it has continued to encourage me to just get out the door.
Monday 18 September 2017. I downloaded MapMyFitness onto my phone and went for a walk. The app seemed to work OK, but the map it calculated was a bit out. I walked to The Glen and around it twice. The first time I just walked around on my usual running lap. I then walked to the waterfall and back. Then along the river path and back along the long flat path, via the old reservoir. On the second lap I did go off the path a few times to collect litter. What I collected before reaching the car park, I emptied into the bin. However, I did fill my carrier bag to the top before exiting The Glen. I put the full bag in the litter bin at the bus garage on the way home.
I pottered about at home for about half an hour before changing and going for a tougher workout. I left at 5.55 pm and stopped to give the horse his second apple of the day as I walked towards The Glen. I started jogging before I turned into Glen Road and then down the path into The Glen. I set off on my usual laps and completed seven, then all the way to the waterfall. Thus 7.3 km for my first interval. I finished by jogging almost to the sluice footbridge then back and over the exit bridge to climb up out of The Glen. I continued to the road junction, the for another 250 m along the road towards home. The second interval was 0.85 km. Thus a total of 8 km (or 5 miles) jogging, plus I walked 3.5 mile.
When I was out walking The Glen was relatively quiet today. All I passed was one middle age couple out on their own for a walk. Later, when I was out running, I passed quite a few. There were two women out mixing jogging with walking. I don't think I've seen them before, but we said hello each time we passed and on my last lap we had a small chat. They were walking at this point.and I did try to encourage them. There was also another woman, on her own, running around The Glen ans she seemed to be going quite quickly. She was level with me, as she crossed over the footbridge and turned left along the river path, as I climbed up the highest path. I had to speed up to stay level with her all the way to the car park.
I didn't feel as good tonight as I did the previous night, but I was OK. It maybe could be due to the fact I have had three tough workouts in a row. When I finished at the waterfall I was really tired and sat down for a minute before I done some stretching and set off on my last interval. The cattle were in the field, just across the river from me, but the bull was about 200 yards further away. Maybe he stayed out too long last night and his wives aren't talking to him.
Overall, I am really pleased with my start to this week. Two good walks and two great workouts in the first two days. I just hope I can continue to keep this going for the remainder of the week.
Tuesday 19 September 2017. My mother asked if I'd cook sweet n sour chicken for her and my father. I decided to go for a walk first then do the cooking. It was a beautiful sunny day and I set off at 2.20 pm. As usual armed with my camcorder, a carrier bag and an apple for the horse. The horse's field is just at the edge of the village and he usually sees me coming.
As I walked on towards The Glen, I passed a man struggling to walk along the road. He was dressed in a suit, shirt and tie and using a walking stick. Even though I had not met him in decades, I knew exactly who he was. I said "hello Dennis" and he looked really confused. I helped him to get onto the pavement and we had a small chat. He eventually worked out who I was. He was always one of the real local characters and when much younger would always finish first in the local 10 mile charity walk. He's now in his 60s and life has taken a heavy toll on him. As I said goodbye, I was happier he was now on the pavement and not on the road.
As I walked into the entrance and down the footpath. I picked up my stick and decided to take a few videos as I'm always writing "I jogged into The Glen, down the path, overt the entrance footbridge, then over the river and start on my laps". From the video below, you can see what I am usually talking about.
I walked firstly to the waterfall. There were two young mothers their, sitting on the bench, and each with a pushchair and young child. I said hello, but didn't dwell, I decided to leave them to it as they seemed to be enjoying each-others' company.
I continued back and over the river, then along the river path. I did pick up the odd piece of litter, but overall The Glen looked really clean. The sun was shining, there was a very slight breeze, not hot, not cold, but just perfect. A young couple, holding hands, passed me, as did a man with his dog. When I got to the car park, I emptied what little litter, I had collected, into the litter bin. The car park looked clean and the large box full cardboard, plus duvet, had gone. I was hoping the local bin men would collect these and, fair play to them, they had.
As I continued over the river and along the footpath towards the steep climb up to the reservoir something shiny caught my eye. I scrambled up to a place I hadn't gone before. It was littered with plastic bottles, empty cans and crisp packets. I almost filled my carrier bag and diverted to climb across the foliage towards the steep hill. I found more litter on my way. By now my bag was full and I walked back to the car park to empty it in the litter bin. I set off again towards the old reservoir and along the long flat path. With the sun shining I could see litter in the relief channel I had not seen before. I went in a few times to pick up one can or bottle and came back out with many.
By the time I had reached the waterfall, for the second time today, the two young mothers had gone and my bag was almost full with litter again. There was nothing obvious to pick up, but when I moved around to take a video of a strange piece of fungus growing on the wall next to the waterfall, I came across some more rubbish. From the video below, you may be able to tell me what it is and if it's poisonous.
I set off again and soon turned right over the river. I climbed up along the top path and back towards the car park. I passed the young couple again, and again holding hands. I just said hello and thought, young love is a wonderful thing. I heard voices from somewhere through the trees, but as I looked, across and down, all I could see was the man who used to brush the streets with his dog.
As I walked along the top path there was fungi everywhere. I didn't take any more videos as I know very little about it and just wanted to keep moving. As I came out of the trees, just before the car park, I was attracted by a shining to my right. There were two full bottles of water hidden in a tree. It looked like someone had left them there intentionally and would be back for them. They were well hidden and I left them. On the way down the hill, to the car park, I saw a can where the fly-tipped box and duvet had been. I went over to pick it up. Next to it was a used condom - I didn't pick that up, but I picked up the empty can of Boost. Then I remembered the other used condom, I came across in the car park a few days ago, it also had an empty can of Boost next to it. I now recon whoever is having sex here at night must need a Boost.
I dispatched the now full carrier bag in the litter bin and headed off home along the river path. I passed the teenage hand holding couple again. As I walked along the pavement into the village, the horse raised his head in excitement, but I held my hands up and he got the message.
At home, I cooked the sweet n sour chicken and boiled some rice for my parents. I do like sweet n sour, but I don't enjoy the sauce out of a jar. I also cooked chicken bolognese for myself, but all from fresh. I finished cooking at 6.05 pm and by 6.15 pm I had changed and was off for my workout.
On my walk to The Glen, the horse got his second apple of the day. It's a shame I didn't have my video, as he was more excited and vocal than ever. I think the vocal was a happy sign. I started jogging early again and down into The Glen. Last night, before bed, I made a promise to myself I would not run tonight, but I felt good, and I broke that promise.
I completed four laps. It's the minimum I like to do to feel I have had a good run. It also means I have just exceeded 20 minutes in one interval, and most experts claim 20 minutes, or more, of aerobic running is good for the body. As usual I finished at the waterfall, but as a man was sitting on the bench combing his Golden Retriever I didn't hang about. I set off again along the flat path, past the entrance footbridge and 150 yard further. I turned around as the teenage couple were moving to let me past - they must have thought I was strange. I exited The Glen (it's a tough climb out of here) and up to the road junction. I ran all the way back to the village. As I passed the horse, he was in the middle of the field. I shouted hello and again put my empty hands up. He watched me all the way, but didn't move in my direction. I think he knew there would be no third apple today.
I walked the last couple of hundred yards home and stayed outside sweating for five minutes. I was still hot when I went inside. I changed quickly and walked to the local shop to get a few beers and a Euro Lottery ticket before it closes at 7.30 pm. On arriving home, my parents were up, so I poured a Guinness and warmed up their dinners. They ate it all.
After my walk, and whilst cooking, I was uploading my videos to YouTube, I finished these after my run. I love YouTube Video Editor, it's so simple and easy, but from 20 September 2017, Google are withdrawing it, and I feel it's a real shame, I intended to show many others how to use it, but now I can't. I just hope they come back with something similar.
Overall, it was another good day of fitness. I walked almost 3.5 miles and jogged 4.3 km then 1 km (a total of 5.3 km or 3.3 miles). It's been the best start to a week I have ever had. Just one worry, a muscle on the outside of my left upper leg felt a bit tender after my run tonight. I wasn't going to mention this as I thought I might be tempting fate, but I hope it's OK.
As I finish writing this there is one thing which will stay with me after tonight. As I climbed up the highest path, on my last lap, the cows were only about 25 yards away. I thought just push on and keep quiet. However, the cow closest to me ran towards me and as she reached the edge of the field, she started bucking up and down with both sets of feet as if attempting to jump the fence. It was scary. What was more scary was all the others were running to join her and getting just as angry. I did speed up to get away from them, but after another 150 yards a woman came walking past me with three dogs. I know all their names. One was on a lead, the other two weren't. After I passed her I suddenly realised I needed to warn her, as the two dogs, not on the lead may try to go into the field. I stopped and shouted after her about the cows being angry and next to the path. I was glad I did, as I met her again towards the end of the lap and she had avoided them by taking a short-cut. It was the angriest I had ever seen the cows. They were within a few feet of me and only a barb wire fence divided the field from the footpath.
Anyway, tonight I have had a few email from people in England who I used to run with and who also supported me through the years when I organised some events. I love things like that as people who respect you for what you once did still think about you. It's things like this which make me want to keep going and some day go back and take part with them in such events again. However, that will take time and I'll have to put in a lot more work, stay injury free and remain in good health for it to happen. I really hope it does.
Wednesday 20 September 2017. It's my mother's bingo night again, so if I'm to do anything today, I need to get out early. I've done a lot over the last few days so something just easy today would be good. As for the weather, it rained all day, and by God did it rain. I cooked my father's dinner then set off for my walk at 6.10 pm. I was lucky as it was now only drizzling. I had decided to only do a walk today, so as usual I had my camcorder, a carrier bag and an apple for the horse. However, as I walked past the field, the horse was no where to be seen.
When I arrived at the footbridge over the river, in The Glen, I couldn't believe how full and rapidly flowing the river was. It was like I had never seen it before and for the first time I was very careful not to get too close.
As usual, I had my stick and collected litter as I went. There was very little on the paths, but I did go into undergrowth a few times to clear old rubbish. I also took a few videos of the fast flowing river and some gentle trickles running off the bank. These made me smile as in the past, after rain, they were only dribbles, but today they were a bit more.
On reaching the car park, it was empty, as expected, but as by now the rain had stopped, a few people soon turned up. I emptied my full carrier bag in the litter bin and headed across the footbridge from the car park. I was still amazed at how full, fast and violent the river was. There was also lots of water falling of the road, forming its own waterfall, and more gushing out of a pipe.
I walked up and around the old reservoir. Then along the long flat path in the direction of the exit footbridge and the waterfall. The relief channel had lots of water in it. This surprised me as I was walking in it the previous day when it was dry.
As I continued towards the waterfall I passed a man walking his dog and a young couple walking and holding hands. This young couple seem to be here a lot recently - it's great to see a young people appreciating such a beautiful place.
When i reached the waterfall the volume of water flowing over it made such a noise. For a change, the cows were in the field on my side of the river. I could see them through the trees and one of them was giving me a really strange look. I took quite a few videos of the waterfall. I thought it was worth it as I could wait a long time before I see so much water flowing over it again.
The waterfall area was very clean and there was no litter to be seen apart from a half full carrier bag which had been thrown into the field the cows were now in. Funnily enough. I couldn't see the black bull anywhere. Maybe he was shagged out and having a rest.
I walked back along the path and over the river again and then set off along the highest path. I could hear voices coming from below me, within The Glen, but I didn't see anyone. It was incredible to see fungi almost everywhere I looked, but I didn't take any videos of them. However, as I climbed up to the highest path, and looked down over the footbridge and the river, I did take a video.
On reaching the car park again I passed the two Eastern European men, I had seen many times before, and as usual they had a dog with them. I got rid of my carrier bag, which was now filthy, but almost empty, in the litter bin and set off along the river path on my way home. It was noticeable, that in the time I had been here, the river level had gone down by a few inches. This is not surprising as the source of the river is only about a mile and a half upstream and it had stopped raining hard a couple of hours ago. I also noticed the usual constant sound of ravens cackling above in the trees had gone and all I could hear was small birds singing from the trees above the sound of the river.
As I walked past the bench, in the middle of The Glen, I noticed two dog leads had been neatly placed on it. I had walked past it less than an hour ago and they weren't there then. There was also a bare branch of a tree lying across the path in front of the bench. It also hadn't been there earlier. To me, it looked strange and looked as if someone had deliberately placed it there.
As I left The Glen I felt happy I didn't go for a run tonight. I had cleared so many stones, twigs and branches from the paths as I walked around. With the light being not great this evening, any one of these could have caused me to trip and injure myself. Even, just before I walked over the river for the last time, there was a huge bare branch strewn across the path. It's worrying to think something as large as this may have fallen from a tree.
On the way home I looked all around the horse's field, but could not see him anywhere. I had already looked for him. on the other side of the embankment, before I passed what was the old rail bridge. As I approached the far end of his field I stopped by the wall to look for him. I still had his apple in my bag. I was confused. Then suddenly I saw a head partly pop out of the hut under the embankment. I called him, but the head soon disappeared again, then reappeared. I continued to call him, and the head continued to appear, then disappear. Eventually, he decided to come out and head in my direction. I was videoing him, but I just wish I had started to a minute earlier so you could see the games he was playing with me. Anyway he came and had his apple.
At the bingo, my mother won £10, as usual I won nothing, as did my sister or aunt. I've checked the weather forecast tonight and it gives good weather for the next few days. Hopefully, I can get a few miles under my belt.
On a last note. There is one thing I am so unhappy about tonight. YouTube video editor has been removed by Google. It was such a brilliant and simple tool to do basic editing of videos. I only found it about three months ago and I use it a lot. Google have removed it because "not many people were using it".
Anyway, back to my "Long Run Back to Fitness". I didn't run today, but I had an enjoyable walk after all the rain we had earlier. I was out for over an hour and a half and I walked just over 3 miles. It keeps my legs moving. I also enjoyed taking all the videos today. You have seen a few above, but there are many more on my YouTube channel. As I write this it is pouring down outside. However, it still forecasts a few good days to come for the rest of the week.
Thursday 21 September 2017. It rained early in the day, but by the time I was ready to go out there was a blue sky and the sun was out. It wasn't warm, but it was perfect weather for running. I set off at 6.15 pm with just a cored apple in my hand. However, as I walked past the field the horse was no where to be seen. I hid the apple, next to the gate, so I could give it to him on the way back.
I walked on and started jogging just before I reached The Glen, As I reached the footbridge, over the river, I set off climbing up to the top path to start my laps. The sun was low in the sky and also in my eyes as I started to climb. I had to use my hand, to cover my eyes, so I could see the ground in front of me - I didn't want to fall over again. Luckily, I soon turned the sharp corner, to continue to climb, and the sun was then on my back. I looked down on the footbridge over the river and all the leaves were shining beautifully in the sun. The river had also gone back to being a stream, but was still much swifter than normal.
I felt OK on the first lap. As I ran through the car park I could see an empty can lying in the middle of it. I promised myself if I got to an eight lap, I'd divert to pick it up. In the back of my head, I was also telling myself, that won't happen tonight. My goal tonight was just 4 or 5 laps. Four laps mean I have run continuously for over 20 minutes and any extra is always a bonus. However, I had no plan to do 8 laps tonight.
Even though the sun was out, it was not hot, the air was clean and fresh. You could not have asked for better running weather. As I approached the car park, on my second lap, I wiped a small amount of sweat off my brow. This was the longest I have run in "My Long Run Back to Fitness" without having to wipe sweat from my face.
The laps kept going by and by the fourth I had had still not passed anyone. This was really surprising as it was such a beautiful evening. I was just enjoying the scenery, the peacefulness, putting one foot in front of the other and watching the trees and river going past.
I did pass a man with two dogs on my fifth lap. I know the dogs are called Scottie and Shorty. His third dog, Coco, was missing tonight. Scottie is very timid and never a problem, Shorty is very excitable and used to scare the hell out of me, but after I said hello a few times, he's been OK since.
My fifth lap is always a bonus and on my sixth, as I ran along the upper path, I started to think I was only on my fifth. It took me a lot of thinking to realise it was my sixth lap, and when I did, I smiled. It was such a happy thought. For the first time in years I was enjoying myself and lost count of how far I had ran. I religiously count the laps to get to an end, but loosing count means I'm just enjoying myself too much and not thinking about how far I have ran.
After I climbed up the steep hill and rounded the old reservoir, I set off along the long flat path. I was soon approaching a woman with a small black and white dog. I thought the dog was going to eat my ankles. It was so angry, so loud and so close. I had to stop, but eventually got past it. I could hear her apologise as I ran on.
As I ran past the car park on my seventh lap I looked again at the can lying in the middle of the car park, thinking "will I be back here on another lap to pick it up?".
My legs started to feel tired as I climbed up and around the old reservoir, but as I ran along the long flat path, they soon felt good again. I was feeling good enough to start my eight lap, but as I crossed over the footbridge, in front of me was the woman with the small black and white dog. As I approached them their backs were to me and I shouted, I'm coming past. Thankfully, she picked up the dog and stood aside to let me past. I was only 100 yards past them, climbing up to the top path, when suddenly I was being rapidly chased down by a small dog and her owner screaming after it. I turned around and shouted "STOP". The dog stopped 10 yards away, but it didn't stop being angry. I ran on, with the sound of barking and apologies coming from behind.
As I got to the car park I diverted to pick up the can and put it in the litter bin. I finished the lap and pushed on to finish the interval at the waterfall. The cattle were in the field across the river and a bit away. I started to stretch and stayed quiet, not to attract their attention. Suddenly, from behind me there was an angry noise. I turned around and just a few yards away, divided by a small fence and no river, was a very angry cow. I stopped stretching and set off running again. I checked over my shoulder that I wasn't being followed by a large cow.
I jogged over the exit footbridge, but the hill, out of The Glen and all the way up to the road junction. I also kept going until after the old railway bridge.
I walked the last few yards to the gate of the horse's field. The apple was still there and I picked it up, but the horse was not to be seen. I continued walking, hoping I would see the horse at the other end of the field, but he was still not to be seen. I stood at the wall and looked over to his house to see if he was hiding again, but still no sign of him. I thought of just throwing the apple into the field and he would find it. I then shouted out "Horse" to see if he would appear, and he did from behind some trees on the top of the old railway embankment. He made a few noises, looked at me for a while and then started to follow a path down. He disappeared behind two trees, on the embankment, and I assumed he would appear again soon. He didn't. He was hiding again. I shouted "Horse" again and I waited for about 20 seconds. Still no sign of "Horse". I thought I'd give it one more go and give up. This time he appeared again. As soon as he reached a well trodden path, descending on the embankment, he ran down and sprinted across to where I was. He lifted his head, looking forward to his apple, and by he really enjoyed it.
I walked home, changed quickly and went to the local shop. My mother's sister and friend come on a Thursday night and I have to have red wine, cheese and biscuits and crisps ready for them. I forgot the crisps, so I might get the sack. However, my mother phoned her friend to tell her to pick some up on the way. Again it was a pleasant night and I was very pleased with my workout tonight.
I had jogged 8.3 km on my first interval, 0.8 km on my second and walked a mile tonight. So overall 5.6 miles running and 1 mile walking. Still two days to go this week and I'm really pleased with what I have done so far.
Friday 22 September 2017. It 15 years ago today when Armagh won its only All Ireland Gaelic Football Championship. I remember it so well. It was only a few weeks earlier I played golf with two of the team
I cooked the dinner before going for a walk. I set off just after 6 pm. I wanted to be back in time to watch Ulster play Dragons in the Pro14 Rugby Championship. As usual I was armed with my camcorder, an apple and had my mobile phone with MapMyHike app downloaded. The app maps your walk, tells you your pace, distance and amount of calories burnt. However, I'm not sure how accurate the calorie count is.
The horse was nowhere to be seen, so I walked on towards The Glen. I'll catch him on the way back. Again it had been raining during the day, but the sun was out and the sky was mostly blue. It was a very pleasant evening.
On entering The Glen, it took me a while to find my stick, but I eventually did. As I walked towards the waterfall I could see the bull in the field to the right. He was right up against the small fence which divided the field from the path. One of the cows saw me coming towards them and started to get very angry. She ran down towards the bull and the fence. I decided not to upset her anymore and headed back into The Glen.
I walked over the footbridge and along the river path. The place looked really clean, but there were a few branches blocking the path. I moved them all to the side. I was thinking, if these actually fall from the trees, they could hurt someone unlucky to be under them at the time.
When I reached the car park, it was empty, but soon a red car pulled in with three young people in it. A girl was driving and was accompanied by two young men. I walked over the river and up to the reservoir, then along the flat path towards the waterfall again. As I approached the waterfall, I could hear a lot of voices. There was a large group of teenagers around the bench. Four girls and three boys. They were very friendly and the bull and cows were all very close. For some reason, one of the boys asked me if I was going fishing and if I owned the cows. Strangely, the bull and cattle were being very placid. I've never seen them like this before. Maybe, the commotion of the teenagers was confusing them.
I took a few videos and left them to it, then set back off into The Glen. I set off along the top path. Again everything looked really clean. I was amazed how much more fungi there was everywhere, lots more than on my previous walk. I soon passed a black dog and then its owner. Just before reaching the car park again I picked up a few water bottles which were still half full and had been hidden in a tree. I did see these a week, or so, ago but left them in case someone had hid them for later.
The car park was empty and I walked around it to pick up a few pieces of litter. All were dispatched into the litter bin. By now I had been out for just over an hour and the light was starting to fade. I also wanted to get back to see the rugby, so I set off towards home along the river path. As I walked I could hear small birds singing in the trees above. I stopped to look up and around, but I couldn't see the birds, I could just hear them above the sound of the river. The Glen can be so peaceful and beautiful at this time of night.
As I reached the footbridge, over the river, the large group of teenagers were on their way past. A few said hello and walked to and over the exit bridge - I assume on their way home.
I turned left towards the waterfall and as I walked I could hear the teenagers chat as they climbed the path out of The Glen. On reaching the waterfall again, the cows were still close by, but not as close as earlier. Two of them were standing on the bank between the fence and the river. They must have walked across the river and climbed up to get there. I took a video hoping they would go back through the river, but they didn't.
As I walked home I soon passed the teenagers again. They had climbed a fence and seemed to be causing damage in an old disused temporary house next to the road. It was such a shame to see. As the exited the building, they could see my looking at them, I just shook my head in disapproval and walked on.
As I passed the horse's field, I could see him standing half way up the embankment. He was also looking in my direction with anticipation. I just walked on until I reached the small wall. I took the two halves of the apple and the camcorder out of my bag. I started taking a video of him and was just about to call him, but he was already heading in my direction. As you can see, from below, he lapped up his apple in no time at all and I headed on.
Instead of going straight home, I diverted to the local shop to buy some bottles of Guinness for later. I do prefer the Original Guinness to the gimmicky stuff in the cans. On the way, to the shop, I spotted another horse. He was tiny, looked sad and appeared to be wearing a wig. Though I do think the wig was part of him. I went and said hello and took a video of him. Maybe, he also enjoys apples. I'll find out soon.
I got home just a few minutes after the rugby started. It wasn't much of a competition with Ulster winning by 52 points to 25. I checked the MapMyHike app on my phone and it said I had walked 4.25 km in 1 hour and 24 minutes. So I walked 2.7 miles today.
Saturday 23 September 2017. The last day of the week again, I just can't believe how the days, the weeks and the months fly past. I did plan to go for a walk and a longer run today, but because it was really windy, I decided to change this to just a shorter run. The thing bothering me was the amount of branches which have fallen onto the footpaths, in The Glen, over the last week. If one of these hit someone, it could cause serious damage.
I set off out at 6.20 pm walking towards The Glen. The horse had his apple on my way past. When I got to The Glen it was empty, probably because it was very windy. As I climbed up to the top path, on my first lap, the wind caused a branch to strike me in the face. I was really careful about this for the rest of my run.
The one good thing about the wind, was it had blown all the midges away. It also made the air fresh and cool, even though it was supposed to be 15 C. In the back of my mind I was only going to have a short run tonight and I could feel myself pushing on during the first lap. The strong wind was keeping me cool and I was enjoying myself. It was only as I finished the second lap when I noticed my first person here this evening. A couple walking a black dog were coming down the path into The Glen. I passed them again a couple of times later. I also passed another woman, with a small dog on a lead, twice later, plus on going through the car park, on my third lap, three blokes were throwing an American football to each other. They had gone the following time I passed through.
I completed five laps tonight. On the fifth I picked up a coke can and put it in the litter bin. It was the only piece of litter I had seen. I finished at the waterfall and covered 5.3 km in my first interval. Although, I had not completed the longer run, I was hoping to, I was still happy with this as I was pushing on a bit faster than usual for most of it.
I only stayed at the waterfall for a few seconds. My last interval of the evening was; back and over the exit bridge; up the path, out of The Glen; on up to the road junction and back into the village. An extra of just over 1 km. The horse did watch me, all the way, as I jogged past his field, but I could tell, he knew nothing more was coming his way.
By the time I got home, I was only out for just over 50 minutes. I changed quickly and walked to and back from the local shop. I was even in time to buy a lottery ticket. The most I have ever won was £64 and that was about 12 years ago. Anyway, you never know.
Overall tonight I ran / jogged just over 6.3 km (almost 4 miles) and walked a mile. It brings my totals for the week to 17.7 miles walking and 23.3 miles jogging. Making an overall total of 41 miles, and my best by almost 10 miles. I'm over the moon with that.
,
Dublin v Mayo, All Ireland Gaelic Football in Croke Park
I had a shower and was off walking by 4 pm. I stopped to give the horse his apple - it seemed like he was waiting for me.
I walked around The Glen taking videos and collecting the odd piece of litter as I went. The sun was out and it was very pleasant. There were a few people walking their dogs, a teenage couple holding hands and a woman with six young children on tow. Some of them were wearing wellies and mucking about in the river.
I first walked to the waterfall, then around The Glen twice. I diverted many times to go down to the river, or to pick up a piece of litter from off the paths. With the huge amount of rain there has been over the last week, it almost like the whole glen has been washed and looks so clean.
Clear water by the waterfall in The Glen
There was also not much litter to collect. Yet, with the sun shining, I could see old cans and bottles I had missed before. I also found a hurling ball which seemed to have has little use. I emptied the litter in the litter bin by the car park and I left the hurling ball next to the bin, hoping someone would take it away and make use of it.
By the time I got home it was 5.40 pm. In the All Ireland Final, Dublin had beaten Mayo by a single point. I finished off preparing my parents' dinner for later. I changed into my running gear and was back out just after 6.30 pm. I stopped, as I walked to The Glen, to give the horse his second apple of the day - he must have thought it was his birthday. However, I won't be making a habit of it.
I started jogging about 100 yards before entering The Glen. When I crossed the footbridge over the river, I turned right to climb and start my first lap. As usual, I didn't set myself a target of how many laps to do. However, as it was quite late, I just wanted to complete at least four and that meant continuous jogging for over 20 minutes. In the back of my mind I would love to do five, making it just over 5 km.
I wasn't on my own tonight, there were two other men running laps of The Glen. One was quite young, the other was in his 30s. They didn't seem to run that fast, but looked a lot fitter than I do. They were also probably going faster than I was. This gave me a bit of an incentive. On the first lap I knew I was moving a bit faster than normal, and for a change I didn't feel that bad. This may have been due to the fact I am now used to running further than 4 or 5 laps and that was all I was intending to complete tonight. At a few points I would have one of them 100 or so yards behind me, and maybe foolish of me, I would push on to try and keep them behind me. I was never going to win, but I was still moving faster and I was feeling comfortable.
Looking down on the river from the highest point in The Glen
It was so surprising how quick the laps passed, and I was really enjoying it. There was no feeling bad, no heavy legs, no wanting to stop or slow down. On the fifth lap I really pushed on through the car park and up the steep hill to the old reservoir. I pushed on around it and after crossing over the sluice bridge, I really made a conscious effort to speed up along the flat path towards the waterfall. I felt I was flying, then I tried to work out my pace. Years ago I could estimate very accurately how fast I was running, but this was a different ball-game. I just said to myself "shut up, it feels great, so enjoy it". I kept this going all the way to the waterfall. When I stopped, I sat down on the bench, I was tired, but it was not an "I'm feeling knackered tired and struggled to do this" it was I've just really pushed myself to my limit for over 5 km, it went in a breeze and I really enjoyed that.
The waterfall and bench in The Glen
To finish, I jogged all the way along the flat path to the old reservoir, around it and back to the exit footbridge. On the way I passed a man with his dog for the second time. As he spoke to me, when I passed him, I realised he was someone I knew over 30 years ago, I wasn't sure of his name, but he used to brush the streets in the village when I was young. It's a shame he's still not doing it.
I crossed over the exit footbridge and climbed the steep path out of The Glen, then steep all the way up the road to the junction. I kept going, past the sad looking horse who wanted another apple, and all the way into the village. It was still sunny, but the sun was low in the sky. The air was clear, but I had sweat running off my face. I changed quickly and walked to and back from the local shop. I was still feeling hot on my was there, but starting to feel cold on my way back. It's what happens if you go for a good run. You feel really hot for a while afterwards, but within 10 to 15 minutes you start to cool down very quickly.
Overall, today I was very pleased with my start to the week. I walked just under 3 miles and ran a 5.3 km interval and a 1.75 km interval. 7.05 km or 4.4 miles running - and tonight it felt like running and not jogging. It's been a great start to a new week, I just hope I can keep it going.
One last thing, before I sign off, writing this blog tonight (although no one is probably reading it) is a personal thing, and it helps me to keep going. I really write it for myself. It may sound boring to others, but to me it's a lifeline to understand and look back on where I came from and where I am going. Without having to put pen to paper, or in my case, fingertips to keyboard, I feel obliged to report on my progress, and by doing this it has continued to encourage me to just get out the door.
Monday 18 September 2017. I downloaded MapMyFitness onto my phone and went for a walk. The app seemed to work OK, but the map it calculated was a bit out. I walked to The Glen and around it twice. The first time I just walked around on my usual running lap. I then walked to the waterfall and back. Then along the river path and back along the long flat path, via the old reservoir. On the second lap I did go off the path a few times to collect litter. What I collected before reaching the car park, I emptied into the bin. However, I did fill my carrier bag to the top before exiting The Glen. I put the full bag in the litter bin at the bus garage on the way home.
I pottered about at home for about half an hour before changing and going for a tougher workout. I left at 5.55 pm and stopped to give the horse his second apple of the day as I walked towards The Glen. I started jogging before I turned into Glen Road and then down the path into The Glen. I set off on my usual laps and completed seven, then all the way to the waterfall. Thus 7.3 km for my first interval. I finished by jogging almost to the sluice footbridge then back and over the exit bridge to climb up out of The Glen. I continued to the road junction, the for another 250 m along the road towards home. The second interval was 0.85 km. Thus a total of 8 km (or 5 miles) jogging, plus I walked 3.5 mile.
When I was out walking The Glen was relatively quiet today. All I passed was one middle age couple out on their own for a walk. Later, when I was out running, I passed quite a few. There were two women out mixing jogging with walking. I don't think I've seen them before, but we said hello each time we passed and on my last lap we had a small chat. They were walking at this point.and I did try to encourage them. There was also another woman, on her own, running around The Glen ans she seemed to be going quite quickly. She was level with me, as she crossed over the footbridge and turned left along the river path, as I climbed up the highest path. I had to speed up to stay level with her all the way to the car park.
I didn't feel as good tonight as I did the previous night, but I was OK. It maybe could be due to the fact I have had three tough workouts in a row. When I finished at the waterfall I was really tired and sat down for a minute before I done some stretching and set off on my last interval. The cattle were in the field, just across the river from me, but the bull was about 200 yards further away. Maybe he stayed out too long last night and his wives aren't talking to him.
Overall, I am really pleased with my start to this week. Two good walks and two great workouts in the first two days. I just hope I can continue to keep this going for the remainder of the week.
Tuesday 19 September 2017. My mother asked if I'd cook sweet n sour chicken for her and my father. I decided to go for a walk first then do the cooking. It was a beautiful sunny day and I set off at 2.20 pm. As usual armed with my camcorder, a carrier bag and an apple for the horse. The horse's field is just at the edge of the village and he usually sees me coming.
Horse comes for his apple
As I walked on towards The Glen, I passed a man struggling to walk along the road. He was dressed in a suit, shirt and tie and using a walking stick. Even though I had not met him in decades, I knew exactly who he was. I said "hello Dennis" and he looked really confused. I helped him to get onto the pavement and we had a small chat. He eventually worked out who I was. He was always one of the real local characters and when much younger would always finish first in the local 10 mile charity walk. He's now in his 60s and life has taken a heavy toll on him. As I said goodbye, I was happier he was now on the pavement and not on the road.
As I walked into the entrance and down the footpath. I picked up my stick and decided to take a few videos as I'm always writing "I jogged into The Glen, down the path, overt the entrance footbridge, then over the river and start on my laps". From the video below, you can see what I am usually talking about.
Into The Glen and down to the entrance footbridge
I walked firstly to the waterfall. There were two young mothers their, sitting on the bench, and each with a pushchair and young child. I said hello, but didn't dwell, I decided to leave them to it as they seemed to be enjoying each-others' company.
I continued back and over the river, then along the river path. I did pick up the odd piece of litter, but overall The Glen looked really clean. The sun was shining, there was a very slight breeze, not hot, not cold, but just perfect. A young couple, holding hands, passed me, as did a man with his dog. When I got to the car park, I emptied what little litter, I had collected, into the litter bin. The car park looked clean and the large box full cardboard, plus duvet, had gone. I was hoping the local bin men would collect these and, fair play to them, they had.
As I continued over the river and along the footpath towards the steep climb up to the reservoir something shiny caught my eye. I scrambled up to a place I hadn't gone before. It was littered with plastic bottles, empty cans and crisp packets. I almost filled my carrier bag and diverted to climb across the foliage towards the steep hill. I found more litter on my way. By now my bag was full and I walked back to the car park to empty it in the litter bin. I set off again towards the old reservoir and along the long flat path. With the sun shining I could see litter in the relief channel I had not seen before. I went in a few times to pick up one can or bottle and came back out with many.
By the time I had reached the waterfall, for the second time today, the two young mothers had gone and my bag was almost full with litter again. There was nothing obvious to pick up, but when I moved around to take a video of a strange piece of fungus growing on the wall next to the waterfall, I came across some more rubbish. From the video below, you may be able to tell me what it is and if it's poisonous.
A really strange piece of fungus on wall by the waterfall
I decided to sit down on the bench next to the waterfall for a couple of minutes. The cattle were a long way away, lying down in the middle of the field. The water was so clear, but unlike when I was really young, there were no fish to be seen in the river. However, I'm not surprised as I now know the local water board, at times, dumps treated sewage into the river. I do always say river, but it's more like a large stream.
Sitting on the bench, next to the waterfall
I set off again and soon turned right over the river. I climbed up along the top path and back towards the car park. I passed the young couple again, and again holding hands. I just said hello and thought, young love is a wonderful thing. I heard voices from somewhere through the trees, but as I looked, across and down, all I could see was the man who used to brush the streets with his dog.
As I walked along the top path there was fungi everywhere. I didn't take any more videos as I know very little about it and just wanted to keep moving. As I came out of the trees, just before the car park, I was attracted by a shining to my right. There were two full bottles of water hidden in a tree. It looked like someone had left them there intentionally and would be back for them. They were well hidden and I left them. On the way down the hill, to the car park, I saw a can where the fly-tipped box and duvet had been. I went over to pick it up. Next to it was a used condom - I didn't pick that up, but I picked up the empty can of Boost. Then I remembered the other used condom, I came across in the car park a few days ago, it also had an empty can of Boost next to it. I now recon whoever is having sex here at night must need a Boost.
I dispatched the now full carrier bag in the litter bin and headed off home along the river path. I passed the teenage hand holding couple again. As I walked along the pavement into the village, the horse raised his head in excitement, but I held my hands up and he got the message.
At home, I cooked the sweet n sour chicken and boiled some rice for my parents. I do like sweet n sour, but I don't enjoy the sauce out of a jar. I also cooked chicken bolognese for myself, but all from fresh. I finished cooking at 6.05 pm and by 6.15 pm I had changed and was off for my workout.
On my walk to The Glen, the horse got his second apple of the day. It's a shame I didn't have my video, as he was more excited and vocal than ever. I think the vocal was a happy sign. I started jogging early again and down into The Glen. Last night, before bed, I made a promise to myself I would not run tonight, but I felt good, and I broke that promise.
I completed four laps. It's the minimum I like to do to feel I have had a good run. It also means I have just exceeded 20 minutes in one interval, and most experts claim 20 minutes, or more, of aerobic running is good for the body. As usual I finished at the waterfall, but as a man was sitting on the bench combing his Golden Retriever I didn't hang about. I set off again along the flat path, past the entrance footbridge and 150 yard further. I turned around as the teenage couple were moving to let me past - they must have thought I was strange. I exited The Glen (it's a tough climb out of here) and up to the road junction. I ran all the way back to the village. As I passed the horse, he was in the middle of the field. I shouted hello and again put my empty hands up. He watched me all the way, but didn't move in my direction. I think he knew there would be no third apple today.
The tough climb, back up, out of The Glen
I walked the last couple of hundred yards home and stayed outside sweating for five minutes. I was still hot when I went inside. I changed quickly and walked to the local shop to get a few beers and a Euro Lottery ticket before it closes at 7.30 pm. On arriving home, my parents were up, so I poured a Guinness and warmed up their dinners. They ate it all.
After my walk, and whilst cooking, I was uploading my videos to YouTube, I finished these after my run. I love YouTube Video Editor, it's so simple and easy, but from 20 September 2017, Google are withdrawing it, and I feel it's a real shame, I intended to show many others how to use it, but now I can't. I just hope they come back with something similar.
Overall, it was another good day of fitness. I walked almost 3.5 miles and jogged 4.3 km then 1 km (a total of 5.3 km or 3.3 miles). It's been the best start to a week I have ever had. Just one worry, a muscle on the outside of my left upper leg felt a bit tender after my run tonight. I wasn't going to mention this as I thought I might be tempting fate, but I hope it's OK.
As I finish writing this there is one thing which will stay with me after tonight. As I climbed up the highest path, on my last lap, the cows were only about 25 yards away. I thought just push on and keep quiet. However, the cow closest to me ran towards me and as she reached the edge of the field, she started bucking up and down with both sets of feet as if attempting to jump the fence. It was scary. What was more scary was all the others were running to join her and getting just as angry. I did speed up to get away from them, but after another 150 yards a woman came walking past me with three dogs. I know all their names. One was on a lead, the other two weren't. After I passed her I suddenly realised I needed to warn her, as the two dogs, not on the lead may try to go into the field. I stopped and shouted after her about the cows being angry and next to the path. I was glad I did, as I met her again towards the end of the lap and she had avoided them by taking a short-cut. It was the angriest I had ever seen the cows. They were within a few feet of me and only a barb wire fence divided the field from the footpath.
The small barb wire fence between The Glen and the field
Anyway, tonight I have had a few email from people in England who I used to run with and who also supported me through the years when I organised some events. I love things like that as people who respect you for what you once did still think about you. It's things like this which make me want to keep going and some day go back and take part with them in such events again. However, that will take time and I'll have to put in a lot more work, stay injury free and remain in good health for it to happen. I really hope it does.
Wednesday 20 September 2017. It's my mother's bingo night again, so if I'm to do anything today, I need to get out early. I've done a lot over the last few days so something just easy today would be good. As for the weather, it rained all day, and by God did it rain. I cooked my father's dinner then set off for my walk at 6.10 pm. I was lucky as it was now only drizzling. I had decided to only do a walk today, so as usual I had my camcorder, a carrier bag and an apple for the horse. However, as I walked past the field, the horse was no where to be seen.
When I arrived at the footbridge over the river, in The Glen, I couldn't believe how full and rapidly flowing the river was. It was like I had never seen it before and for the first time I was very careful not to get too close.
Angry river by footbridge in The Glen
Angry river again, but from below footbridge in Irish Glen
Angry river by a bend. In an Irish Glen.
As usual, I had my stick and collected litter as I went. There was very little on the paths, but I did go into undergrowth a few times to clear old rubbish. I also took a few videos of the fast flowing river and some gentle trickles running off the bank. These made me smile as in the past, after rain, they were only dribbles, but today they were a bit more.
Tiny drip turns into small waterfall after rain in Fairy Glen
On reaching the car park, it was empty, as expected, but as by now the rain had stopped, a few people soon turned up. I emptied my full carrier bag in the litter bin and headed across the footbridge from the car park. I was still amazed at how full, fast and violent the river was. There was also lots of water falling of the road, forming its own waterfall, and more gushing out of a pipe.
The angry stream and new waterfall, by car park in The Glen
I walked up and around the old reservoir. Then along the long flat path in the direction of the exit footbridge and the waterfall. The relief channel had lots of water in it. This surprised me as I was walking in it the previous day when it was dry.
Relief channel floods in short time after rain in The Glen
As I continued towards the waterfall I passed a man walking his dog and a young couple walking and holding hands. This young couple seem to be here a lot recently - it's great to see a young people appreciating such a beautiful place.
When i reached the waterfall the volume of water flowing over it made such a noise. For a change, the cows were in the field on my side of the river. I could see them through the trees and one of them was giving me a really strange look. I took quite a few videos of the waterfall. I thought it was worth it as I could wait a long time before I see so much water flowing over it again.
Noisy waterfall and cows nearby in Irish glen
The waterfall area was very clean and there was no litter to be seen apart from a half full carrier bag which had been thrown into the field the cows were now in. Funnily enough. I couldn't see the black bull anywhere. Maybe he was shagged out and having a rest.
Fast flowing waterfall in The Glen
I walked back along the path and over the river again and then set off along the highest path. I could hear voices coming from below me, within The Glen, but I didn't see anyone. It was incredible to see fungi almost everywhere I looked, but I didn't take any videos of them. However, as I climbed up to the highest path, and looked down over the footbridge and the river, I did take a video.
Footbridge and fast flowing river on climb up to top path
On reaching the car park again I passed the two Eastern European men, I had seen many times before, and as usual they had a dog with them. I got rid of my carrier bag, which was now filthy, but almost empty, in the litter bin and set off along the river path on my way home. It was noticeable, that in the time I had been here, the river level had gone down by a few inches. This is not surprising as the source of the river is only about a mile and a half upstream and it had stopped raining hard a couple of hours ago. I also noticed the usual constant sound of ravens cackling above in the trees had gone and all I could hear was small birds singing from the trees above the sound of the river.
Small birds singing in the trees above The Glen
As I walked past the bench, in the middle of The Glen, I noticed two dog leads had been neatly placed on it. I had walked past it less than an hour ago and they weren't there then. There was also a bare branch of a tree lying across the path in front of the bench. It also hadn't been there earlier. To me, it looked strange and looked as if someone had deliberately placed it there.
Dog leads on bench and branch across footpath in The Glen
As I left The Glen I felt happy I didn't go for a run tonight. I had cleared so many stones, twigs and branches from the paths as I walked around. With the light being not great this evening, any one of these could have caused me to trip and injure myself. Even, just before I walked over the river for the last time, there was a huge bare branch strewn across the path. It's worrying to think something as large as this may have fallen from a tree.
On the way home I looked all around the horse's field, but could not see him anywhere. I had already looked for him. on the other side of the embankment, before I passed what was the old rail bridge. As I approached the far end of his field I stopped by the wall to look for him. I still had his apple in my bag. I was confused. Then suddenly I saw a head partly pop out of the hut under the embankment. I called him, but the head soon disappeared again, then reappeared. I continued to call him, and the head continued to appear, then disappear. Eventually, he decided to come out and head in my direction. I was videoing him, but I just wish I had started to a minute earlier so you could see the games he was playing with me. Anyway he came and had his apple.
Shy horse eventually comes for his apple
At the bingo, my mother won £10, as usual I won nothing, as did my sister or aunt. I've checked the weather forecast tonight and it gives good weather for the next few days. Hopefully, I can get a few miles under my belt.
On a last note. There is one thing I am so unhappy about tonight. YouTube video editor has been removed by Google. It was such a brilliant and simple tool to do basic editing of videos. I only found it about three months ago and I use it a lot. Google have removed it because "not many people were using it".
Anyway, back to my "Long Run Back to Fitness". I didn't run today, but I had an enjoyable walk after all the rain we had earlier. I was out for over an hour and a half and I walked just over 3 miles. It keeps my legs moving. I also enjoyed taking all the videos today. You have seen a few above, but there are many more on my YouTube channel. As I write this it is pouring down outside. However, it still forecasts a few good days to come for the rest of the week.
Thursday 21 September 2017. It rained early in the day, but by the time I was ready to go out there was a blue sky and the sun was out. It wasn't warm, but it was perfect weather for running. I set off at 6.15 pm with just a cored apple in my hand. However, as I walked past the field the horse was no where to be seen. I hid the apple, next to the gate, so I could give it to him on the way back.
I walked on and started jogging just before I reached The Glen, As I reached the footbridge, over the river, I set off climbing up to the top path to start my laps. The sun was low in the sky and also in my eyes as I started to climb. I had to use my hand, to cover my eyes, so I could see the ground in front of me - I didn't want to fall over again. Luckily, I soon turned the sharp corner, to continue to climb, and the sun was then on my back. I looked down on the footbridge over the river and all the leaves were shining beautifully in the sun. The river had also gone back to being a stream, but was still much swifter than normal.
Footbridge over river from upper path on a sunny evening
I felt OK on the first lap. As I ran through the car park I could see an empty can lying in the middle of it. I promised myself if I got to an eight lap, I'd divert to pick it up. In the back of my head, I was also telling myself, that won't happen tonight. My goal tonight was just 4 or 5 laps. Four laps mean I have run continuously for over 20 minutes and any extra is always a bonus. However, I had no plan to do 8 laps tonight.
Even though the sun was out, it was not hot, the air was clean and fresh. You could not have asked for better running weather. As I approached the car park, on my second lap, I wiped a small amount of sweat off my brow. This was the longest I have run in "My Long Run Back to Fitness" without having to wipe sweat from my face.
The laps kept going by and by the fourth I had had still not passed anyone. This was really surprising as it was such a beautiful evening. I was just enjoying the scenery, the peacefulness, putting one foot in front of the other and watching the trees and river going past.
Passing trees on the top path
I did pass a man with two dogs on my fifth lap. I know the dogs are called Scottie and Shorty. His third dog, Coco, was missing tonight. Scottie is very timid and never a problem, Shorty is very excitable and used to scare the hell out of me, but after I said hello a few times, he's been OK since.
My fifth lap is always a bonus and on my sixth, as I ran along the upper path, I started to think I was only on my fifth. It took me a lot of thinking to realise it was my sixth lap, and when I did, I smiled. It was such a happy thought. For the first time in years I was enjoying myself and lost count of how far I had ran. I religiously count the laps to get to an end, but loosing count means I'm just enjoying myself too much and not thinking about how far I have ran.
After I climbed up the steep hill and rounded the old reservoir, I set off along the long flat path. I was soon approaching a woman with a small black and white dog. I thought the dog was going to eat my ankles. It was so angry, so loud and so close. I had to stop, but eventually got past it. I could hear her apologise as I ran on.
As I ran past the car park on my seventh lap I looked again at the can lying in the middle of the car park, thinking "will I be back here on another lap to pick it up?".
My legs started to feel tired as I climbed up and around the old reservoir, but as I ran along the long flat path, they soon felt good again. I was feeling good enough to start my eight lap, but as I crossed over the footbridge, in front of me was the woman with the small black and white dog. As I approached them their backs were to me and I shouted, I'm coming past. Thankfully, she picked up the dog and stood aside to let me past. I was only 100 yards past them, climbing up to the top path, when suddenly I was being rapidly chased down by a small dog and her owner screaming after it. I turned around and shouted "STOP". The dog stopped 10 yards away, but it didn't stop being angry. I ran on, with the sound of barking and apologies coming from behind.
It was at this point I was being chased by a small angry dog
As I got to the car park I diverted to pick up the can and put it in the litter bin. I finished the lap and pushed on to finish the interval at the waterfall. The cattle were in the field across the river and a bit away. I started to stretch and stayed quiet, not to attract their attention. Suddenly, from behind me there was an angry noise. I turned around and just a few yards away, divided by a small fence and no river, was a very angry cow. I stopped stretching and set off running again. I checked over my shoulder that I wasn't being followed by a large cow.
I jogged over the exit footbridge, but the hill, out of The Glen and all the way up to the road junction. I also kept going until after the old railway bridge.
The exit footbridge. I also call it the entrance footbridge
I walked the last few yards to the gate of the horse's field. The apple was still there and I picked it up, but the horse was not to be seen. I continued walking, hoping I would see the horse at the other end of the field, but he was still not to be seen. I stood at the wall and looked over to his house to see if he was hiding again, but still no sign of him. I thought of just throwing the apple into the field and he would find it. I then shouted out "Horse" to see if he would appear, and he did from behind some trees on the top of the old railway embankment. He made a few noises, looked at me for a while and then started to follow a path down. He disappeared behind two trees, on the embankment, and I assumed he would appear again soon. He didn't. He was hiding again. I shouted "Horse" again and I waited for about 20 seconds. Still no sign of "Horse". I thought I'd give it one more go and give up. This time he appeared again. As soon as he reached a well trodden path, descending on the embankment, he ran down and sprinted across to where I was. He lifted his head, looking forward to his apple, and by he really enjoyed it.
I walked home, changed quickly and went to the local shop. My mother's sister and friend come on a Thursday night and I have to have red wine, cheese and biscuits and crisps ready for them. I forgot the crisps, so I might get the sack. However, my mother phoned her friend to tell her to pick some up on the way. Again it was a pleasant night and I was very pleased with my workout tonight.
I had jogged 8.3 km on my first interval, 0.8 km on my second and walked a mile tonight. So overall 5.6 miles running and 1 mile walking. Still two days to go this week and I'm really pleased with what I have done so far.
Friday 22 September 2017. It 15 years ago today when Armagh won its only All Ireland Gaelic Football Championship. I remember it so well. It was only a few weeks earlier I played golf with two of the team
I cooked the dinner before going for a walk. I set off just after 6 pm. I wanted to be back in time to watch Ulster play Dragons in the Pro14 Rugby Championship. As usual I was armed with my camcorder, an apple and had my mobile phone with MapMyHike app downloaded. The app maps your walk, tells you your pace, distance and amount of calories burnt. However, I'm not sure how accurate the calorie count is.
The horse was nowhere to be seen, so I walked on towards The Glen. I'll catch him on the way back. Again it had been raining during the day, but the sun was out and the sky was mostly blue. It was a very pleasant evening.
On entering The Glen, it took me a while to find my stick, but I eventually did. As I walked towards the waterfall I could see the bull in the field to the right. He was right up against the small fence which divided the field from the path. One of the cows saw me coming towards them and started to get very angry. She ran down towards the bull and the fence. I decided not to upset her anymore and headed back into The Glen.
I walked over the footbridge and along the river path. The place looked really clean, but there were a few branches blocking the path. I moved them all to the side. I was thinking, if these actually fall from the trees, they could hurt someone unlucky to be under them at the time.
Tree branch across footpath in The Glen
When I reached the car park, it was empty, but soon a red car pulled in with three young people in it. A girl was driving and was accompanied by two young men. I walked over the river and up to the reservoir, then along the flat path towards the waterfall again. As I approached the waterfall, I could hear a lot of voices. There was a large group of teenagers around the bench. Four girls and three boys. They were very friendly and the bull and cows were all very close. For some reason, one of the boys asked me if I was going fishing and if I owned the cows. Strangely, the bull and cattle were being very placid. I've never seen them like this before. Maybe, the commotion of the teenagers was confusing them.
Bull and cows by waterfall, plus talking teenagers
I took a few videos and left them to it, then set back off into The Glen. I set off along the top path. Again everything looked really clean. I was amazed how much more fungi there was everywhere, lots more than on my previous walk. I soon passed a black dog and then its owner. Just before reaching the car park again I picked up a few water bottles which were still half full and had been hidden in a tree. I did see these a week, or so, ago but left them in case someone had hid them for later.
The car park was empty and I walked around it to pick up a few pieces of litter. All were dispatched into the litter bin. By now I had been out for just over an hour and the light was starting to fade. I also wanted to get back to see the rugby, so I set off towards home along the river path. As I walked I could hear small birds singing in the trees above. I stopped to look up and around, but I couldn't see the birds, I could just hear them above the sound of the river. The Glen can be so peaceful and beautiful at this time of night.
A peaceful night, with birds singing in the trees above The Glen
As I reached the footbridge, over the river, the large group of teenagers were on their way past. A few said hello and walked to and over the exit bridge - I assume on their way home.
I turned left towards the waterfall and as I walked I could hear the teenagers chat as they climbed the path out of The Glen. On reaching the waterfall again, the cows were still close by, but not as close as earlier. Two of them were standing on the bank between the fence and the river. They must have walked across the river and climbed up to get there. I took a video hoping they would go back through the river, but they didn't.
Cows by the river in an Irish Glen
As I walked home I soon passed the teenagers again. They had climbed a fence and seemed to be causing damage in an old disused temporary house next to the road. It was such a shame to see. As the exited the building, they could see my looking at them, I just shook my head in disapproval and walked on.
As I passed the horse's field, I could see him standing half way up the embankment. He was also looking in my direction with anticipation. I just walked on until I reached the small wall. I took the two halves of the apple and the camcorder out of my bag. I started taking a video of him and was just about to call him, but he was already heading in my direction. As you can see, from below, he lapped up his apple in no time at all and I headed on.
Horse comes quickly for apple
Instead of going straight home, I diverted to the local shop to buy some bottles of Guinness for later. I do prefer the Original Guinness to the gimmicky stuff in the cans. On the way, to the shop, I spotted another horse. He was tiny, looked sad and appeared to be wearing a wig. Though I do think the wig was part of him. I went and said hello and took a video of him. Maybe, he also enjoys apples. I'll find out soon.
Tiny Irish horse looks as if he's wearing a wig
I got home just a few minutes after the rugby started. It wasn't much of a competition with Ulster winning by 52 points to 25. I checked the MapMyHike app on my phone and it said I had walked 4.25 km in 1 hour and 24 minutes. So I walked 2.7 miles today.
Saturday 23 September 2017. The last day of the week again, I just can't believe how the days, the weeks and the months fly past. I did plan to go for a walk and a longer run today, but because it was really windy, I decided to change this to just a shorter run. The thing bothering me was the amount of branches which have fallen onto the footpaths, in The Glen, over the last week. If one of these hit someone, it could cause serious damage.
I set off out at 6.20 pm walking towards The Glen. The horse had his apple on my way past. When I got to The Glen it was empty, probably because it was very windy. As I climbed up to the top path, on my first lap, the wind caused a branch to strike me in the face. I was really careful about this for the rest of my run.
The one good thing about the wind, was it had blown all the midges away. It also made the air fresh and cool, even though it was supposed to be 15 C. In the back of my mind I was only going to have a short run tonight and I could feel myself pushing on during the first lap. The strong wind was keeping me cool and I was enjoying myself. It was only as I finished the second lap when I noticed my first person here this evening. A couple walking a black dog were coming down the path into The Glen. I passed them again a couple of times later. I also passed another woman, with a small dog on a lead, twice later, plus on going through the car park, on my third lap, three blokes were throwing an American football to each other. They had gone the following time I passed through.
I completed five laps tonight. On the fifth I picked up a coke can and put it in the litter bin. It was the only piece of litter I had seen. I finished at the waterfall and covered 5.3 km in my first interval. Although, I had not completed the longer run, I was hoping to, I was still happy with this as I was pushing on a bit faster than usual for most of it.
The beautiful and peaceful area by the waterfall
I only stayed at the waterfall for a few seconds. My last interval of the evening was; back and over the exit bridge; up the path, out of The Glen; on up to the road junction and back into the village. An extra of just over 1 km. The horse did watch me, all the way, as I jogged past his field, but I could tell, he knew nothing more was coming his way.
By the time I got home, I was only out for just over 50 minutes. I changed quickly and walked to and back from the local shop. I was even in time to buy a lottery ticket. The most I have ever won was £64 and that was about 12 years ago. Anyway, you never know.
Overall tonight I ran / jogged just over 6.3 km (almost 4 miles) and walked a mile. It brings my totals for the week to 17.7 miles walking and 23.3 miles jogging. Making an overall total of 41 miles, and my best by almost 10 miles. I'm over the moon with that.
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